Print preferences locked

[lorilowell]

All of my print preferences are locked and cannot be changed. I have followed all of the HP troubleshooting twice and followed plenty of internet advice with no resolution. (see image.) This is my personal printer on my home network. 

I have done the following (and more that I'm probably forgetting):

-restored printer to factory resets

-reset router

-disconnected computer from wi-fi

-uninstalled and reinstalled printer and all drivers

-updated firmware

-found the secret settings menu to service, etc

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @lorilowell,

Welcome to the HP Support Community! 

Thanks for reaching out about your query regarding your printer's preferences being locked!  

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to assist you and provide a solution.

Hey there! 😊 I know this must be frustrating, but let’s get this sorted. Since you've already tried most troubleshooting steps, let's check a couple of things:

Are you logged in as an Administrator? Sometimes, print preferences are locked due to user permissions.
Is your printer in managed mode? If it was ever connected to a work/school account, some settings may be locked.
Try accessing the settings from another user account (create a new admin account if needed) to see if the issue persists.

If none of this work, let me know, and we can explore more solutions! 🔧😊

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?"—your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 👍✨

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,

[lorilowell]

as i mentioned in the hour and 47 minutes, none of these solutions worked

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

@lorilowell,

Thank you for the response,

Since you've already tried a wide range of solutions, let's go a bit deeper with advanced troubleshooting steps:

Reset Windows Print Spooler

• Open Command Prompt (Admin) and run the following commands one by one:
  net stop spooler  
  del /Q /F /S "%systemroot%\System32\Spool\Printers\*"   
  net start spooler  
• Restart your PC and check if the settings are unlocked.

Check Registry Permissions

• Open Registry Editor (Win + R, type regedit, press Enter).
• Navigate to:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers
• Right-click your printer’s name and select Permissions.
• Ensure your user account has Full Control. If not, grant it, apply changes, and restart your PC.

Check HP Smart App & Web Admin Panel

• If you're using the HP Smart App, some settings can be locked from there. Try making changes from the app.
• Log into your printer’s web interface by entering its IP address in a browser. Look for any security settings that might be restricting preferences.

5. Create a New Local User Account

• If there’s a corruption in your user profile, settings may be locked. Create a new local admin account, log in, and check if print preferences are editable.

If none of these steps work, the issue could be firmware-related or deeply embedded in the OS. Let me know what happens after these steps!

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?"—your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 👍✨

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,

[lorilowell]

Thank you for your attempt to help. I spent about an hour following these steps and I was quite hopefull. However, nothing has changed. I'm very frustrated that there's no fix, especially with the number of other people apparently expereincing the same issus. This is a home pc and printer that have never been used or set up by anyone other than myself, so some of the solutions didn't apply. Help is much appreciated!!

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @lorilowell,

Thank you for the response.

A) Kindly refer to the steps on this link to update the printer firmware and let me know if that resolves the issue.

B) If the issue still persists, refer to the steps on this link to restore factory defaults.

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?"—your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 👍✨

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,

[lorilowell]

The firmware was current. After resetting to factory settings, I restarted my computer. The printer options and shortcuts are all still locked and cannot be changed. Any other suggestions?

[lorilowell]

This has been tried many times, by myself as well as the 15 or so "specialist" that work for HP. It does not work. When you hit ok to print, the settings all revert back.